Last Albums: Eagles - Long Road Out Of Eden (2007)

Long Road Out Of Eden made me realize just how much I missed the Eagles. Throughout the 70s my favorite Eagle, Glen Frey, his friend Don Henley, and all of their various band mates created a classic sound that with the exception of The Long Run - their last full length studio album during their original run of popularity - never wore out its welcome.

Readers of this article will have to understand that I came to this double CD set back in 2007 not knowing what to expect and I'm happy to report that I was not disappointed. The Eagles' vocal harmonies are perfect as usual and so is their classic 70s sound that was loved by so many of us. They're still one of the few rock bands who can do ballads without sounding sappy.

Long Road Out Of Eden's back story was chronicled in many news publications around the world. The group has sold millions of copies of the CD largely because of their exclusive deal with Walmart - the only brick and mortar retailer allowed to sell it when it was officially released. The album sold well despite heavy criticism that the band sold their souls to the devil. It's a sentiment I agree with completely. Henley, especially, comes off as a hypocrite because he sings about our "soul-sucking" culture on "Business As Usual" knowing full well he was selling his music through a retailer who had a reputation for sucking the souls out of their poor employees. Henley has always been the group's social conscience and that is what made the former Walmart deal so disconcerting.

However, once you get by the moral contradictions and actually delve into Henley's songs you'll notice that he makes many valid points. Those of you who know where the Garden of Eden was supposed to be located will appreciate the title track's name as a thinly veiled disguise for his views on ending the war in Iraq. He is ticked off and he wants the whole world to know it.

There are many highlights. The a cappella "No More Walks In The Wood" opens the album and conjures up visions of "Seven Bridges Road." The made for radio "How Long" sounds like classic early Eagles. There are smooth ballads such as "I Love To Watch A Woman Dance" and the melodically entrancing "What Do I Do With My Heart" that harken back to the grand tradition of "Best Of My Love." "Waiting In the Weeds" shows Henley's softer side. Frey's pleasant instrumental with the forward-looking title of "I Dreamed There Was No War" is especially sad following on the heels of the angry title track.

As usual both Henley and Frey are the dominant personalities, and it's still surprising to see Timothy B. Schmidt and Joe Walsh, stars in their own right, willing to accept such a low profile even though their contributions help make the album a success. Schmidt's fine lead and harmony vocals and Walsh's distinctive guitar color the arrangements nicely.

Listeners who automatically assume that a band's new songs are "not as good as their old stuff" need to think again. I guarantee you'll come away thinking that the Eagles should not have taken twenty-nine years off between full-length studio albums.

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Last Albums discusses music that was recorded as new material and intended to be released to the public as a complete album but not necessarily the last one. Live albums, greatest hits or "best of" collections and compilations do not count, nor do posthumous releases of leftover tracks cobbled together to make a final album.